After watching a preview of the bleakly powerful opening episode of The Handmaid’s Tale it was a bit of light relief to re-enter the world of Jane Austen – though, as Lucy Worsley reminded us in BBC2’s one-off documentary to mark the bicentenary of her death, this was also a world where a woman’s status was defined by subtle yet strict gradations.

Jane Austen: Behind Closed Doors took as its theme the various properties where the novelist and her family lived.

It was a reminder that the Austens were often in somewhat straitened circumstances and Jane’s access to the world of grand residences and lavish parties she documented so acutely was limited, and usually facilitated through a plentiful supply of brothers who had “married well”.

There didn’t seem to be much an aficionado wouldn’t know already. But Worsley (reining in her usual tendency to raid the dressing-up box) made for an engaging tour guide.

And there were plentiful lavish shots of lush countryside and beautiful interiors, interspersed with readings from Austen’s letters that matched the novels for wit and insight. Perfect bank holiday weekend television, in other words.

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